Gunstock



June 13, 1967 w. v. T. GILBERT GUNS TOCK Filed Sept. 27, 1965 INVENTOR. 56 67 ATTORNEYS.

$76. W/AA/AM L 7T6/4 3,324,588 GUNSTOCK William V. T. Gilbert 3165 Ferndale, Las Vegas, Nev. 89109 Filed Sept. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 490,180 7 Claims. (Cl. 42-71) This invention relates to stocks for long barreled individual firearms such as rifles or shotguns, and constitutes an improvement over co-pending application Ser. No. 353,968 filed Mar. 23, 1964, now Patent No. 3,209,- 481 and more particularly relates to a gunstock having a rearwardly extending vertically disposed crooked arm for placement behind the shoulder of a user.

As pointed out in the aforementioned application, and as will be more fully explained in the following specification, the firer positions the crooked member behind the shoulder adjacent the armpit area and pushes the weapon forwardly in order to obtain the proper sight alignment and a proper sight picture. When the weapon is fired, recoil is absorbed into the palm of the hand instead of being absorbed by the body at the junction of the arm and shoulder as in conventional weapons. Since the users arm may flex whereas the shoulder cannot, no appreciable recoil is felt. Recoil noticed by the user will be against the palm of the hand rather than against the sensitive forward part of the shoulder. One distinct advantage of the gunstock of the instant invention is the provision of an arm disposed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the weapon and preferably vertically disposed in alignment with the vertical plane thereof, such that the bent arm contacts the rear of the users shoulder or arm adjacent the armpit area which conduces to accurate placement of the weapon.

One object of this invention is to provide a gunstock for supporting a long-barreled individual firearm from a users body in a manner that will insure good marksmanship and obviate punishment to the firer due to recoil.

A more specific object of the instant invention is to provide an arm angularly disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of a weapon.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a gunstock constructed and arranged to allow rapid placement of the weapon in a firing position.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a gunstock arranged to aid the positioning thereof at identical locations along the users body during firing.

A more specific object of the instant invention is to provide a gunstock of the character described adapted to fit individuals of varying size.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a gunstock for individual firearms which uses the body of an operator as a levered support during the firing operation.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide a gunstock which may utilize various positions rearwardly of the shoulder and arm of a firer for supporting purposes.

Other objects and advantages of the instant invention reside in the combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and features of construction and operation, all as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawing wherein there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept.

From time to time hereinafter, the terms forwardly and rearwardly will be used in describing a firearm, it being understood that the term forwardly denotes the muzzle end of the firearm with rearwardly indicating the end opposite the muzzle.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a firearm ice equipped with a gunstock of the instant invention showing a user in dashed lines;

FIGURE 2 is a partial top plan view of the gunstock of FIGURE 1 as may be seen from along line 2-2 thereof viewing in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a partial enlarged side elevational view of the rearwar dextremity of the gunstock of the instant invention;

FIGURE 4 is a partial enlarged side elevational view of another embodiment of the instant invention showing one manner of altering the size of a gunstock;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the gunstock of FIGURE 4 taken along line 5-5 thereof and viewing the direction of the arrows; and

FIGURE 6 is a partial enlarged side elevational view of the rearward extremity of a grounstock of the instant invention showing another manner by which the length thereof may be varied.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like reference characters designate like elements through the several views thereof, there is indicated generally at 10 a firearm which may 'be either a rifle or a shotgun, held in the firing position by an individual shown generally at 12 Firearm 18 includes a longitudinal barrel 14 mounted upon a stock designated generally at 16. It will be seen that barrel 14 and stock 16 lie in a substantially vertical plane when firearm 10 is in the firing position shown in FIGURE 1.

Firearm 10 is illustrated as including a bolt 18 mounted in a breech 20 in bullet exchanging relation with barrel 14 and is provided with a bolt handle 22 for reciprocating bolt 18 in a conventional manner. It should be understood, of course, that weapon 10 may be of the gasoperated semi-automatic or automatic type of any suitable construction.

Stock 16 includes a forwardly extending shank 24 which is customarily grooved on the upper surface thereof receiving barrel 14 in a known manner. Shank 24 may carry a gripping surface 26 adjacent the forward end thereof as is conventional in sporting stocks. Stock 16 is also equipped with a cheek-receiving portion 28 rearwardly of breech 28 which may be of any conventional type. Between portion 28 and breech 20 is a thumbreceiving surface 30 with a pistol grip 32 being positioned on the under side of stock 16 below surface 30.

A trigger 34 and trigger guard 36 extend through the under surface of stock 16 conveniently placed with respect to pistol grip 32 such that the middle, ring and small finger of a users hand may surround pistol grip 32 with the index finger positioned on trigger 34 and with the users thumb on surface 30. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the preceding description of firearm 10 is conventional in every respect and may include any conventional variations. As described, firearm 10 provides an environment for the understanding of the gunstock improvements of the instant invention.

Positioned rearwardly of portion 28 is a crooked member shown generally at 38 including a rearwardly extending section, designated generaly at 40, which may be integral with or otherwise secured to stock 16. Crooked member 38 also includes an upstanding arm shown generally at 42 illustrated such that rearwardly extending section 40 and arm 42 lie substantially in the vertical plane of barrel 14 and stock 16 when firearm 10 is in the firing position.

From an inspection of FIGURE 1, it will be seen that crooked member 38 forms an upwardly open pocket designated generally at 44 rearwardly of stock 16 that is free from obstructions along a plane disposed vertically through the center of rearwardly extending section 40. Pocket 44 is also free from obstructions along an imaginary line 46' drawn from the junction of upstanding arm 42 and rearwardly extending section 40 in the direction of barrel 14 and upwardly inclined thereto. It will be seen that the unobstructed nature of pocket 44 allows user 12 to position upstanding member 42 rearwardly of the body by simply moving the elbow slightly away from the side and hooking crooked member 38 behind the shoulder, side or arm.

Rearwardly extending section 40 includes an enlarged forward portion 46 providing a secure junction with stock 16 with the rearward end of section 40 merging smoothly with upstanding arm 42. The upper end of upstanding arm 42 may be slightly displaced from the vertical position as shown in FIGURE 3 and crooked in a suitable direction to accommodate the natural slope of a users body.

In the use of illustrated firearm 10, the user will raise the elbow and hook upstanding member 42 immediately rearwardly of the armpit area and press forwardly on stock 16 with both hands. The user may place the check on the cheek piece and sight along barrel 14 in a conventional manner. After assuring that proper sight alignment and sight picture has been obtained, the user will pull trigger 34 to discharge weapon it Weapon 1% will begin to recoil with the hand of the user absorbing the majority thereof with the flexing of the arm accommodating the remainder.

When the shot'is completed, the user may disengage crooked member 34 from the shoulder merely by pulling upwardly on the forward end of shank 24- with the right hand of a right handed firer acting as a pivot. The firer may again discharge weapon after first securing hooked member 38 to the shoulder as previously described. If the firer should desire to fire successive shots from the same firing position, the left hand of a right handed user may push forwardly on the weapon with the right hand manipulating bolt 22 in a conventional manner.

One distinct advantage of the stock of the instant invention resides in an obviating of firing inaccuracies produced by the jerking of trigger 34. With conventional shoulder weapons, the right hand of a right handed firer grasps a pistol grip or the like and pulls rearwardly to set the butt of the gunstock in the hollow of the individuals shoulder. Instead of moving the trigger with the index finger only, marksman often succeed in discharging a weapon by pulling rearwardly with the forehand and wrist, thus moving the weapon and resulting in an upward and rightward strike of the discharged bullet. With the gunstock of the instant invention, the right arm of the firer will be tensed in a forward direction such that the only muscles available with which to pull trigger 34 reside in the index finger of the user. Accordingly, the tendency to pull trigger 34 by forearm or wrist muscles is non-existent.

It has been found that it may be necessary to angle rearwardly extending section 40 either upwardly or downwardly in the vertical plane of stock 16 and barrel 14 or from side to side out of the vertical plane of stock 16 and barrel 14 to accommodate different physical characteristics of the firer and to allow different supporting locations for upstanding arm 42. In addition, pistol grip 32 and thumb-receiving surface 30 may be provided with suitably shaped corrugations or indentations increasing the ability of the right hand of a right handed firer to grasp stock 16.

Although the above description of firing weapon 16 has intimated an elbow down condition of the firer, which is advantageous under certain circumstances, it should be understood that the firer may place the upper arm in an outward position with respect to the body with crooked member 38 lying adjacent the junction of the upper arm and shoulder.

It is now convenient to distinguish two types of stocks known to the prior art from that of the instant invention. The first type of stock known to the prior art includes a depending arm positionable rearwardly of the shoulder of a user rather than under the arm as in the instant invention. Such a stock is often used in conjunctionwith an automatic fire weapon to preclude the weapon from inching forwardly during fire. In such use, the firer will support the forward end of the weapon on a bipod or tripod mount holding the rear end of the weapon down- Wardly with the shoulder of the firer taking the recoil. It should be pointed out that this type of firing proceeds under an entirely different set of conditions than that of the instant invention where the firer pushes forwardly on the weapon taking recoil in the palms of the hands. It should also be pointed out that the back of an individuals shoulder slopes in a forward direction thus facilitating the dislodgement of the rearwardly disposed arm from engagement with the firer's body.

Another type of gunstock to be distinguished from that of the instant invention is a variety having an enclosed loop into which the firer may insert the arm. The method of operation of this type of firing device is also substantially the same as in conventional weapons thus differing from that of the instant invention. Furthermore, firearms of this type are not readily useful for rapidly sighting and. firing at a target, since the firer must substantially extend the arm and place the weapon through the loop.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, one form of connecting straight portion 4th with upstanding arm 42 is shown with members 4t 42 being made separately and later assembled. Straight section 40 has a rear end 48 with a longitudinal blind aperture 50 communicating therewith and receiving a pin 52 of arm 42. The junction of arms 40, 42 is preferably smooth to prevent snagging the firers clothing. Pin 52'may be splined' or the like to preclude rotation within opening 50 or may be glued therein.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, straight section '49 is constructed to provide a means of adjusting the length thereof designated generally at 54. Length varying means 54 includes a shank 56 extending rearwardly from a first segmentSS of straight section 40 having a plurality of apertures 60 spaced along the longitudinal axis thereof. Shankfi is received in a complementarily shaped channel 62 within a second segment 64- of straight section 40.

Segment 64 is provided with at least one aperture 66 which may be aligned with aperture 60 with a pin 68 being placed therein to align apertures 60, 66. It will be apparent that second segment 64 may be equipped with more than one aperture 66 to provide a more secure connection. Upstanding arm 42 forms a pin 70 which may be secured in aperture 62 in much the same manner as pin 52 may be secured in aperture 5t) as shown in FIGURE 3.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, another form of adjustment means is shown generally at 72 and includes a longitudinal blind opening 74 in a first segment 76 of straight section 4%. A transverse slot 78 communicates with opening 74 with a second segment 80 of straight section 40 being received in opening 74. Second segment 80 includes a longitudinal slot 82 in which is fixedly mounted an elongate threaded member 84.

As will be seen from FIGURE 6, forward end 86 of second segment 8 is solid and fixedly receives the end of threaded member 84. A nut 88 is threadably received on elongate member $34 and is dimensioned to closely fit within transverse slot '78. It will be seen that a user may vary the length of straight section 40 by rotating nut 88 which effects the sliding of second segment 80 out of first segment 76.

Second segment 80 of straight section 40 may be secured to upstanding arm 42 in any convenient manner, but this connection is illustrated such that the other end of threaded member 84 extends through the horizontal section of upstanding arm 84 with a nut 90 received on the end thereof making the connection secure.

It is now seen that there is herein provided an improved gunstock having all of the objects of this invention and others, including many advantages of great practical utility and commercial importance.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant inventive concept, and since many modifications may be made of the embodiments hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that the foregoing is to be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A firearm including a barrel having a muzzle, a gunstock including a hand grip portion underlying said barrel and a cheek-engaging portion extending rearwardly away from said muzzle beyond the end of the barrel and lying in substantially the same vertical plane therewith when the rifle is in position for use, the improvement comprising an upwardly open pocket formed of a generally vertically disposed crooked member including a section extending rearwardly from said cheek-engaging portion and an arm disposed generally vertically at an angle with respect to said section secured to said rearwardly extending section, said arm having an upper end and being dimensioned to juxtapose the rear of a firers body.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said rearwardly extending section and said arm form a pocket for receiving the arm of a user, said pocket being free of obstructions along an imaginary line drawn from the intersection of said rearwardly extending portion and said arm toward said barrel and inclined upwardly from said stock.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said pocket is free from obstructions along a substantially vertical plane 6 throughout the length of said rearwardly extending section.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said rearwardly extending section includes means for varying the length of said section.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said rearwardly extending section is substantially straight and includes a pair of telescoping members and means for temporarily fixing the telescoping relation of said telescoping members.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein said temporary fixing means includes a plurality of aligned holes in each of said telescoping members and a removable pin for aligning and retaining said holes in an aligned relation.

7. The structure of claim 5 wherein said telescoping members include an inner member forming a longitudinal opening and an elongated threaded member being positioned in said opening parallel to said longitudinal opening threadably receiving a nut, and an outer member received about said inner member forming a transverse opening closely receiving said nut.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,386,247 8/1921 Fordyce .42-71 1,651,299 11/1927 Stansel 42-73 1,909,171 5/1933 Coupland 4273 3,209,481 10/ 1965 Gilbert 42-71 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FIREARM INCLUDING A BARREL HAVING A MUZZLE, A GUNSTOCK INCLUDING A HAND GRIP PORTION UNDERLYING SAID BARREL AND A CHEEK-ENGAGING PORTION EXTENDING REARWARDLY AWAY FROM SAID MUZZLE BEYOND THE END OF THE BARREL AND LYING IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME VERTICAL PLANE THEREWITH WHEN THE RIFLE IS IN POSITION FOR USE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AN UPWARDLY OPEN POCKET FORMED OF A GENERALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED CROOKED MEMBER INCLUDING A SECTION EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM SAID CHEEK-ENGAGING PORTION AND AN ARM DISPOSED GENERALLY VERTICALLY AT AN ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID SECTION SECURED TO SAID REARWARDLY EXTENDING SECTION, SAID ARM HAVING AN UPPER END AND BEING DIMENSIONED TO JUXTAPOSE THE REAR OF A FIRER''S BODY. 